Skip to main content

tv   BBC World News  WHUT  September 25, 2012 7:00am-7:30am EDT

7:00 am
>> this is "bbc world news." funding of this presentation is made possible by the freeman foundation of new york, stowe, vermont, and honolulu, newman's own foundation, and union bank. >> at union bank, our relationship managers work hard to know your business, offering
7:01 am
specialized solutions and capital to help you meet your growth objectives. we offer expertise and tailored solutions for small businesses and major corporations. what can we do for you? >> and now, "bbc world news." >> the annual u.n. assembly gets underway. syria is likely to dominate the discussions. extremely bad and getting worse, that is the verdict of the new international envoy. >> rising every day from damascus now. what is happening on the ground? we are not allowed to go inside these neighborhoods to see for
7:02 am
ourselves. >> hello and welcome to gmt. also in the program, china issues and new warning to japan over the islands in the center in a battle over sovereignty. property damage, economic hardships, and emotional trauma. it is midday here in london and 7:00 a.m. in new york where syria is likely to dominate the discussions in the united nations general assembly. the u.s. and arab league envoy to syria has painted a grim picture of the conflict after his first official visit to the
7:03 am
country, saying the situation is bad and getting worse. there are clashes every day but we see little of it been been getting the full story has proven to be an increasing challenge. >> the ruins of war. the government says it wants to journalists to show the true picture. some of it cannot be hidden. syrian forces pounded the area last month after armed opposition moved in. when we see new attacks, we cannot get close. there is smoke rising every day from damascus now. what is happening on the ground? we are not being allowed by the government to go inside to see for ourselves. we decided to go to a northern suburb i visited on every recent trip.
7:04 am
i was stopped by soldiers. we get off to a good start. how is the situation? one man says it is fine. they say we cannot go any further bowie can talk to people right here. watch the man in the striped shirt. he is a soldier. he has put down his gun and has raced ahead of us. by the time i greet the shopkeeper, he has filled a bag of bananas. posing as a customer. there is no chance at this shop keeper can speak freely. silence everyone. the moscow announces funerals today after violence the day before -- the mosque announces
7:05 am
funerals today after violence the day before. helicopters came yesterday and opened fire he said. "we are begging them to stop." i asked the government about indiscriminate bombing of civilian areas. >> in many of these areas, civilians have fled because terrorists have attacked them and taken over their houses been paying >> we asked repeatedly to go and see these areas for ourselves but were told no. why doesn't syria want the world to see what is happening? >> we don't have a problem for you to go see it with your own eyes but our main priority is to protect you. in damascus, sometimes the violence comes to you. this is seconds after a small blast outside a hotel.
7:06 am
we caught this on camera. there is so much more we don't see. >> as we saw in that report, there was that first hand account of one child caught up in the conflict. aid agencies say children have been collecting similar testimony from other children. china has warned japan it will not tolerate violations of its sovereignty. the meeting came as dozens of boats sailed for the island to protest. tensions have been high since japan's purchase of the island from its private japanese owner. >> japanese patrol ships shoot water cannons.
7:07 am
it is the latest confrontation in the east china sea. these uninhabited islands lie at the heart of a heated dispute which the u.s. could trigger war -- the u.s. warned it could trigger war. earlier today, china unveiled a symbol of its rising power. dozens of operational planes that will be used for training. it is the sign of the country's growing military ambitions. as china becomes more powerful, it's nationalism is alarming its neighbors. it triggered a wave of violence of japanese protests. businesses were attacked. now china and japan appear to want to cool the tensions. the deputy foreign minister is
7:08 am
in beijing for the first time this dispute. >> we can talk to martin now who is in beijing from what i have read, the message from china to japan was pretty uncompromising. >> i think uncompromising is the right word. you have to put this in context. china is gearing up for a once in a decade leadership change. economic cardgh will sure to win china's leaders support. they do not have a lot of room to maneuver been th. >> are you suggesting that one should wait until this transition whenever it happens before we see what relations between china and japan are going to be? >> certainly, it is difficult to
7:09 am
see during a time of transition. china's leaders are always going to take a tough line of islands. what we often see is a ramping up of those tensions such as the protests we saw last week and then diplomacy kicks in. tokyo is taking a tough line. the sovereignty of the islands is not addressed. >> thanks very much. let's take a look at some of the other stories making headlines. 7 somalis accused of being pirates in malaysia. these defendants were captured by the navy after they allegedly tried to hijack an oil tanker.
7:10 am
police in australia are investigating the possibility that a handbag may have been planted at a suspected crime scene after her disappearance. the handbag was discovered on monday. a 30-year investigation has highlighted what they say is the failure of western governments to prevent the dumping of toxic waste in 2006. a dutch based transport company paid a company to dump the waste. 100,000 people sought hospital treatment. and american report into the use of drone strikes against militants said the u.s.
7:11 am
government rarely acknowledges civilian casualties they cost despite significant evidence civilians are being killed. evidence that rescuers were killed or injured by successful strikes at a single location. joining me now is our correspondent. all of this will bring some comfort to those people in pakistan who are always being so critical of these attacks. >> i think that was the idea. this study was commissioned by the u.k. legal charity which campaigns against drones. it is coming from two respected universities in the united states. i think if this message is coming from independent academics and the united states, maybe it will be listened to. the report conclude the strikes are damaging and counterproductive.
7:12 am
they estimate the overall number of top leaders killed among the drone victims is perhaps only 2%. they say while they are not killing the top tier or not be enough of the commanders, they are terrorizing an entire community. that is the word that they use, stressing that the drones hovering overhead night and day. they say communities are paralyzed by fear and many people are too frightened to go to import and gatherings. parent are keeping their children out of schools or the children themselves are too traumatized to go. the level of fear has been compared to the level of fear in the u.s. after 9/11. >> the report also says the vast
7:13 am
majority of those victims are combatants or low-level combatants. americas argument is if it did not use drones, it would have to use much more interest of tactics to go after these combatants. >> that is the line that has been used by president obama himself. they do describe them as surgical tools and incest the result in minimal civilian casualties. y resultinsist the re in minimal civilian casualties'. it is impossible to carry out first hand investigations because of the presence of the army and militants. this report is a result of data gathered by independent groups.
7:14 am
they believe that 170 our children, and that when it and e there are civilian casualties, the u.s. administration has not taken responsibility. the authors are also carrying the the legal basis of these strikes particularly when those targeted are not connected to the 9/11 attacks of the united states. >> thank you very much. still to come on gmt, relief for the british government as a court clears the way for the extradition of terrorist suspects. here in britain, police are appealing to in school teacher who has believed to run away to france with one of its pupils to
7:15 am
do the right thing and make contact with them and th. concerns were raised before the disappearance. this report contains some flash photography. >> for a fifth day, the 15-year- old remains missing, presumed in france with her teacher twice her age. her mother made in emotional appeal for her to come home. >> i don't care what you have done. i just want you home. and your brother is absolutely devastated. he wants you back. please text me, ring me. >> the alarm was raised when she failed to arrive at her school in east friday.
7:16 am
she was thought to travel to france on thursday evening with her math teacher who performs as a musician. ♪ the pair had ticket for a return ferry on sunday evening but did not use them. messages are being evaluated and analyzed while the french authorities continued the search of broad. there remains nothing to do but wait and hope. >> you can continue to follow that story on our website where you will find up to date information. just go to bbc.com/news. this is gmt from bbc world news.
7:17 am
traumatized by conflict -- the children of syria who have witnessed killings, torture, and other atrocities. another confrontation in the east china sea. it is a big week for the eurozone with major economic reforms due to be announced in a number of countries. france and spain will both unveiled plans. in greece, a general strike is planned against further cuts. first, our europe correspondent sent this report from brussels on the challenges that europe is facing. >> for a few years here in brussels, the focus has been on how to strengthen the currency. the bailout were the immediate medicine designed to stabilize the situation.
7:18 am
debt in both the public and private arena is the big problem, and government now face the task of trying to bring it down as fast as possible. government across europe need to find ways of reducing their debts quickly. how well they do it? attention will go first this week to the country that has been at the epicenter. greece. the chatter is about the new greek prime minister, who they think is serious about trying to reform the economy. he is negotiating more reforms in an economy that is supposed to get around 7% smaller this year. they have a heavily unionized work force and are planning another strike against these measures.
7:19 am
away from greece, you find the same challenge with public anger m ounting in spain. the prime minister's attempt to curb spending is going to focus he is looking more to structural reforms so pensions can be frozen and the retirement age increased. one in four spaniards are unemployed at the moment. a big problem is the lack of economic growth. north out of spain to a country that so far has not been in the spotlight, he will find -- you will find a similar picture. the french cling onto their relaxed way of life with a 35- hour working week and great benefit them than this friday, the president is going to be
7:20 am
unveiling some 30 billion bureaux in savings for the next year and promises to balance the budget in five years. the big problem all these countries have in common is they have to bring down costs by their citizens have gotten used to a good and expensive welfare state and then the problem is getting worse as populations get older. >> let's pick up with some of those issues. we got an idea of all the problems. mario druggie, his bond buying scheme. he is in germany. >> these people are not impressed with this program.
7:21 am
he has a big problem in front of him. he has to charm the pants off the germans. he said i will do whatever it takes to save the eurozone. a couple weeks ago when he said i am going to start buying unlimited government debt from these troubled economies, the germans said hang on. they see this new bond buying program as printing money which equals higher inflation. that is what the germans do not want to see. there are questioning if the ec is stepping outside its official duties. just have a listen to the voice of big german industry who told us it would be wonderful if draghi could explain the logic behind this new program.
7:22 am
>> i think there is a certain misconception in germany about the role of central banks given that the currency as a point of view which is widely shared by the german public and on the other hand you have been eccb which has assumed a much wider responsibility. i think it would be helpful if he could explain he is not acting in contradiction. >> still has some work to do. let's switch over to japan. we reported on these progra pro. >> a long year for the japanese camera nad medical equipment maker. back then, we had a british ceo in charge. he started looking at the books and start questioning some rather dubious deals. he was then fired and an
7:23 am
investigation took place. we soon learned these deals were covering up $1.7 billion in losses of this company. today we had a guilty plea. the chairman said there is no mistake. i take the entire responsibility. two other executives also pleaded guilty. now they face 10 years in jail plus fines. listen to this. >> as far as investors are concerned, i think this says it has been dealt with and we can stop worrying about olympus but it has fueld a lot of fears in corporate governance in general. the impression that these businesses are run by elderly
7:24 am
executives who are hostile to foreign executives coming in. the implications for the it carry on. >> still a lot of worries about japanese corporate governance. for olympus, they will get over this. >> bbc has learned that in a very rare intervention, the queen raised the case of the radical muslim cleric with the government here in britain. the is expected to be extradited to the u.s. within the next three weeks. our security correspondent has been exploiting the interest in the case. >> this was a conversation we had a little while ago. she did say that she had mentioned that was there not some law that was broken. but like anybody, she was upset
7:25 am
that her country and her subjects were being denigrated by this man who is using this country as a platform for his hateful views. not suggesting that her intervention made a difference, but she was simply voicing the views that many had. >> a military court ruling paves the way for he and other suspects to be extradited to america. >> [indiscernible] >> he has fought against extradition for eight long years. but his time has finally run out. ministers will not believe it until he is on a plane going to the united states. the final decision has been
7:26 am
made. the court rejected the fact that being convicted -- possibly without hope of release would be in human and degrading. a senior mp says the circumstances of other suspects may not be as clear cut. >> he is a terrorist. however, extradition is a complicated set of circumstances. spending eight years in prison without charge fighting extradition and argues he probably would have done less time behind bars if found guilty. opponents are planning one last legal moved to prosecute the themselves in an attempt to hold up the process. it seems likely that some or all of the suspects will be put on a plan within a matter of
7:27 am
weeks and to face the american justice system. >> that is all for the moment here on gmt. stay with us. there is plenty more to come here on bbc world news then t. >> funding of this presentation was made possible by the freeman foundation of new york, stowe, vermont, and honolulu, newman's own foundation, and union bank.
7:28 am
>> at union bank, working to help provide capital for the key strategic decisions. we offer expertise and tailored solutions in a wide range of industries. what can we do for you? >> "bbc world news" was presented by kcet, los angeles.
7:29 am

113 Views

info Stream Only

Uploaded by TV Archive on